Enhanced node b (enb) and method for mtc coexistence

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of a machine-type communication (MTC) User Equipment (UE) and methods for configuring a MTC UE using an evolved Node B (eNB) are generally described herein. A method for configuring a UE for communication performed by circuitry of an evolved Node B (eNB) may include broadcasting, from the eNB, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission on a licensed band, transmitting, from the eNB to the UE, a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission multiplexed with a machine-type communication (MTC) PBCH (M-PBCH) transmission, the M-PBCH transmission including a MTC master information block (M-MIB) in a MTC region of the licensed band, wherein the MTC region includes a subset of frequencies of the licensed band, and transmitting, from the eNB to the UE, a first data transmission on the MTC region in a downlink.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This patent application claims the benefit of priority of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/031,054, entitled “RAN1:System and Method on Coexistence of MTC and LTE System,” filed on Jul.30, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relateto cellular communication networks including 3GPP (Third GenerationPartnership Project) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks,and 3GPP LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), although the scope of the embodiments isnot limited in this respect. Some embodiments relate to Machine-TypeCommunication (MTC).

BACKGROUND

Machine-Type Communication (MTC) is a promising and emerging technologyto enable a ubiquitous computing environment including the concept of an“Internet of Things (IoT)”. Potential MTC-based applications includesmart metering, healthcare monitoring, remote security surveillance,intelligent transportation system, etc. Currently, MTC devices are notdesigned to be integrated into current and next generation mobilebroadband networks such as LTE and LTE-Advanced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes may represent different instances of similarcomponents. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, butnot by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the presentdocument.

FIG. 1 illustrates generally a portion of an end-to-end networkarchitecture of an LTE network with various components of the network inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates generally a functional block diagram of a UE inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate generally diagrams of frequency-division andtime-division locations for a machine-type communication (MTC) region ina downlink in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate generally diagrams of frequency-division andtime-division locations for the MTC region in an uplink in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates generally signaling in the MTC region in thetime-division in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates generally a first diagram of a MTC physical broadcastchannel (M-PBCH) transmission in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates generally a second diagram of a MTC physicalbroadcast channel (M-PBCH) transmission in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates generally a third diagram of a MTC physical broadcastchannel (M-PBCH) transmission in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates generally a diagram of a MTC system information bloc(M-SIB) transmission in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate generally diagrams of the MTC region in adownlink in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates generally a diagram of the MTC region in an uplinkin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates generally a flowchart showing a method for using aMTC User Equipment (UE) on a licensed bandwidth in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates generally an example of a block diagram of a machineupon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies)discussed herein may perform in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Wireless communications today include a myriad of devices, controllers,methods, and systems. For example, wireless communications on licensedbands may involve a User Equipment (UE) and an evolved Node B (eNB) indifferent settings and varieties. In an example, a licensed bandwireless communication system may include a Wireless Network operatingas a 3rd Generation partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE)or LTE-advanced network or other cellular phone network. In an LTE orLTE-advanced network, the minimum bandwidth is 1.4 MHz. In an example,Machine-Type Communication (MTC) may have a transmission bandwidth of1.4 MHz. In other examples, MTC may have a transmission bandwidth of 200kHz, 300 kHz, 400 kHz, or other values below or above 1.4 MHz. In anexample, 200 kHz is approximately the size of a single physical resourceblock (PRB) in an LTE or LTE-advanced network. MTC may includedevice-to-device (also known as machine-to-machine) communication,Internet of Things type communication, or the like.

In an example, a control channel is transmitted across all of a systembandwidth. When the system bandwidth if larger than 1.4 MHz, a collisionon the control channel may occur between an LTE or LTE-advanced systemtransmission and a MTC transmission. In another example, the existingmobile broadband networks may not be designed or optimized to meet theMTC related requirements.

In an example, a UE, an eNB, or a network, may be configured to supportMTC. For example, a MTC region for communication may be established. TheMTC region may include establishing or modifying time and frequencyresource information, signaling, or collision handling. MTC support mayinclude MTC channel state information (M-CRS) design, MTC physicalbroadcast channel M-PBCH design, MTC system information block M-SIBdesign, MTC control channel design including MTC physical downlinkcontrol channel (M-PDCCH) design, MTC physical control format indicatorchannel (M-PCFICH) design, or MTC physical hybrid-automatic repeatrequest (ARQ) indicator channel (M-PHICH) design, or MTC uplink design.

FIG. 1 illustrates generally a portion of an end-to-end networkarchitecture of an LTE network with various components of the network inaccordance with some embodiments. The network 100 comprises a radioaccess network (RAN) (e.g., as depicted, the E-UTRAN or evolveduniversal terrestrial radio access network) 100 and the core network 120(e.g., shown as an evolved packet core (EPC)) coupled together throughan S1 interface 115. For sake of convenience and brevity, only a portionof the core network 120, as well as the RAN 100, is shown.

The core network 120 includes mobility management entity (MME) 122,serving gateway (serving GW) 124, and packet data network gateway (PDNGW) 126. The RAN includes enhanced node B's (eNBs) 104 (which mayoperate as base stations) for communicating with user equipment (UE)102. The eNBs 104 may include macro eNBs and low power (LP) eNBs.

The MME is similar in function to the control plane of legacy ServingGPRS Support Nodes (SGSN). The MME manages mobility aspects in accesssuch as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The servingGW 124 terminates the interface toward the RAN 100, and routes datapackets between the RAN 100 and the core network 120. In addition, itmay be a local mobility anchor point for inter-eNB handovers and alsomay provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilitiesmay include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. Theserving GW 124 and the MME 122 may be implemented in one physical nodeor separate physical nodes. The PDN GW 126 terminates an SGi interfacetoward the packet data network (PDN). The PDN GW 126 routes data packetsbetween the EPC 120 and the external PDN, and may be a key node forpolicy enforcement and charging data collection. It may also provide ananchor point for mobility with non-LTE accesses. The external PDN can beany kind of IP network, as well as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)domain. The PDN GW 126 and the serving GW 124 may be implemented in onephysical node or separated physical nodes.

The eNBs 104 (macro and micro) terminate the air interface protocol andmay be the first point of contact for a UE 102. In some embodiments, aneNB 104 may fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 100 includingbut not limited to RNC (radio network controller functions) such asradio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resourcemanagement and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. Inaccordance with embodiments, UEs 102 may be configured to communicateOFDM communication signals with an eNB 104 over a multicarriercommunication channel in accordance with an OFDMA communicationtechnique. The OFDM signals may comprise a plurality of orthogonalsubcarriers.

The S1 interface 115 is the interface that separates the RAN 100 and theEPC 120. It is split into two parts: the S1-U, which carries trafficdata between the eNBs 104 and the serving GW 124, and the S1-MME, whichis a signaling interface between the eNBs 104 and the MME 122. The X2interface is the interface between eNBs 104. The X2 interface comprisestwo parts, the X2-C and X2-U. The X2-C is the control plane interfacebetween the eNBs 104, while the X2-U is the user plane interface betweenthe eNBs 104.

With cellular networks, LP cells are typically used to extend coverageto indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well, or to addnetwork capacity in areas with very dense phone usage, such as trainstations. As used herein, the term low power (LP) eNB refers to anysuitable relatively low power eNB for implementing a narrower cell(narrower than a macro cell) such as a femtocell, a picocell, or a microcell. Femtocell eNBs are typically provided by a mobile network operatorto its residential or enterprise customers. A femtocell is typically thesize of a residential gateway or smaller, and generally connects to theuser's broadband line. Once plugged in, the femtocell connects to themobile operator's mobile network and provides extra coverage in a rangeof typically 30 to 50 meters for residential femtocells. Thus, a LP eNBmight be a femtocell eNB since it is coupled through the PDN GW 126.Similarly, a picocell is a wireless communication system typicallycovering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shopping malls,train stations, etc.), or more recently in-aircraft. A picocell eNB cangenerally connect through the X2 link to another eNB such as a macro eNBthrough its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, LP eNBmay be implemented with a picocell eNB since it is coupled to a macroeNB via an X2 interface. Picocell eNBs or other LP eNBs may incorporatesome or all functionality of a macro eNB. In some cases, this may bereferred to as an access point base station or enterprise femtocell.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlinktransmissions from an eNB to a UE. The grid may be a time-frequencygrid, called a resource grid, which is the physical resource in thedownlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is acommon practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radioresource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource gridcorrespond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. Theduration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slotin a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid isdenoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number ofresource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channelsto resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection ofresource elements and in the frequency domain, this represents thesmallest quanta of resources that currently can be allocated. There areseveral different physical downlink channels that are conveyed usingsuch resource blocks. With particular relevance to this disclosure, twoof these physical downlink channels are the physical downlink sharedchannel and the physical down link control channel.

The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data andhigher-layer signaling to a UE 102 (FIG. 1). The physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) carries information about the transport formatand resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among otherthings. It also informs the UE about the transport format, resourceallocation, and H-ARQ information related to the uplink shared channel.Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channelresource blocks to UEs within a cell) is performed at the eNB based onchannel quality information fed back from the UEs to the eNB, and thenthe downlink resource assignment information is sent to a UE on thecontrol channel (PDCCH) used for (assigned to) the UE.

The PDCCH uses CCEs (control channel elements) to convey the controlinformation. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCHcomplex-valued symbols are first organized into quadruplets, which arethen permuted using a sub-block inter-leaver for rate matching. EachPDCCH is transmitted using one or more of these control channel elements(CCEs), where each CCE corresponds to nine sets of four physicalresource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four QPSKsymbols are mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using oneor more CCEs, depending on the size of DCI and the channel condition.There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE withdifferent numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L,=1, 2, 4, or 8).

FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of a UE in accordance withsome embodiments. The UE 200 may be suitable for use as any one or moreof the UEs 102 illustrated in FIG. 1. The UE 200 may include physicallayer circuitry 202 for transmitting and receiving signals to and fromeNBs 104 (FIG. 1) using one or more antennas 201. UE 200 may alsoinclude medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry 204 for controllingaccess to the wireless medium. UE 200 may also include processingcircuitry 206 and memory 208 arranged to configure the various elementsof the UE to perform the operations described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates generally a functional block diagram of a UE inaccordance with some embodiments. UE 200 may be suitable for use as UE102 (FIG. 1). The UE 200 may include physical layer circuitry 202 fortransmitting and receiving signals to and from eNBs 104 (FIG. 1) usingone or more antennas 201. UE 200 may also include medium access controllayer (MAC) circuitry 204 for controlling access to the wireless medium.UE 200 may also include processing circuitry 206 and memory 208 arrangedto perform the operations described herein.

In accordance with some embodiments, the MAC circuitry 204 may bearranged to contend for a wireless medium configure frames or packetsfor communicating over the wireless medium and the PHY circuitry 202 maybe arranged to transmit and receive signals. The PHY 202 may includecircuitry for modulation/demodulation, upconversion/downconversion,filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processingcircuitry 206 of the device 200 may include one or more processors. Insome embodiments, two or more antennas may be coupled to the physicallayer circuitry arranged for sending and receiving signals. The physicallayer circuitry may include one or more radios for communication inaccordance with cellular (e.g., LTE) and WLAN (e.g., IEEE 802.11)techniques. The memory 208 may be store information for configuring theprocessing circuitry 206 to perform operations for configuring andtransmitting HEW frames and performing the various operations describedherein.

In some embodiments, the UE 200 may be part of a portable wirelesscommunication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), alaptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, aweb tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, apager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, atelevision, a wearable device, a medical device (e.g., a heart ratemonitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that mayreceive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, theUE 200 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatilememory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an applicationprocessor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display maybe an LCD screen including a touch screen.

The one or more antennas 201 utilized by the UE 200 may comprise one ormore directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example,dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas,microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmissionof RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, asingle antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In theseembodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In somemultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may beeffectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and thedifferent channel characteristics that may result between each ofantennas and the antennas of a transmitting station. In some MIMOembodiments, the antennas may be separated by up to 1/10 of a wavelengthor more.

Although the UE 200 is illustrated as having several separate functionalelements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and maybe implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such asprocessing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/orother hardware elements. For example, some elements may comprise one ormore microprocessors, DSPs, application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), radio-frequencyintegrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware andlogic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein.In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or moreprocesses operating on one or more processing elements.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware,firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage medium may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by amachine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storagemedium may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memorydevices, and other storage devices and media. In these embodiments, oneor more processors may be configured with the instructions to performthe operations described herein.

In some embodiments, the UE 200 may be configured to receive OFDMcommunication signals over a multicarrier communication channel inaccordance with an OFDMA communication technique. The OFDM signals maycomprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers. In some broadbandmulticarrier embodiments, eNBs may be part of a broadband wirelessaccess (BWA) network communication network, such as a WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication network or a3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Terrestrial RadioAccess Network (UTRAN) Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) or aLong-Term-Evolution (LTE) communication network, although the scope ofthe invention is not limited in this respect. In these broadbandmulticarrier embodiments, the UE 200 and the eNBs may be configured tocommunicate in accordance with an orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA) technique.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate generally diagrams (e.g., 300A and 300B) offrequency-division and time-division locations for a machine-typecommunication (MTC) region (e.g., 304A and 304B) in a downlink inaccordance with some embodiments. Diagrams 300A and 300B include acontrol region 302 for a LTE or LTE-advanced network. In an example,diagram 300A includes a MTC region 304A that is time-divisionmultiplexed with the control region 302. As shown in diagram 300A, thecontrol region 302 occurs before the MTC region 304A along the subframeaxis. In an example, diagram 300A includes a frequency-division for theMTC region. In an example, the MTC region 304A may be located in acontiguous set of PRBs (e.g., six or seven PRBs) within the systembandwidth. For example, the MTC region may be located in a set ofcentered PRBs (e.g., six or seven PRBs), at the edge of the systembandwidth, etc. In another example, the MTC region may include a set offrequency locations and be described using subcarrier indexes in thesystem bandwidth in a downlink or an uplink. The uplink frequencylocations for the MTC region may exclude a physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH) region or a physical random access channel (PRACH)region. For example, the PUCCH or PRACH regions may be used for LTE orLTE-advanced communication and may not be necessary for MTC or mayinterfere with MTC and may not be used for MTC.

In another example, diagram 300B includes a MTC region 304B that hasintra-slot hopping applied to further exploit frequency diversity. Indiagram 300B, the control region 302 and the MTC region 304B may betime-division multiplexed and the MTC region 304B may further includethe intra-slot hopping (e.g., a first set of frequencies or frequencyband for slot 0 and a second set of frequencies or frequency band forslot 1). In another example, the MTC region may use intra-subframehopping.

The time-division for FIGS. 3A and 3B may include orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of the MTC region in thedownlink. Diagrams 300A and 300B may include a set of subframes within aframe in a downlink or an uplink for the MTC region. In an example, astarting symbol of the MTC region in the downlink may be predefined. Inanother example, the starting symbol may be configured to be after thePDCCH region for a subframe (or for all subframes) within a frame. Forexample, the PDCCH region may include the control region 302 and the MTCregion may start after the control region 302 ends. In another example,subframes not allocated for PBCH and primary and secondarysynchronization signal (PSS/SSS) transmission may be used for the MTCregion in both downlink and uplink if a centered set of PRBs (e.g., sixor seven PRBs) are allocated for MTC. For example, the MTC region mayinclude a subframe not used for PSS/SSS.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate generally diagrams (e.g., 400A and 400B) offrequency-division and time-division locations for a MTC region (e.g.,404A and 404B) in an uplink in accordance with some embodiments. In FIG.4A, diagram 400A illustrates a MTC region 404A that is located in acontiguous frequency range, such as a set of PRBs (e.g., six or sevenPRBs) in a system bandwidth. The MTC region 404A may exclude a PUCCHregion 402 or a PRACH region 406. In diagram 400A, the example MTCregion 404A is shown for a subframe without intra-slot hopping. Indiagram 400B in FIG. 4B, the MTC region 404B includes intra-slot hoppingto further exploit frequency diversity. The MTC region may also applyintra-subframe hopping. In an example, a PUCCH-type hopping may be usedfor intra-slot hopping to achieve maximal frequency diversity.

In another example, a time or frequency location for the MTC region maybe different for either the uplink, the downlink, or both. A fixedhopping pattern may be used. The fixed hopping pattern may be derivedfrom a physical cell identity. In another example, a subframe index maybe defined. In the examples described above, randomizing inter-cellinterference may be achieved.

In an example, a transmission using LTE or LTE-advanced typecommunication may be scheduled in the MTC region. In this example, aneNB may decide resource allocation for UEs that use the LTE orLTE-advanced type communication and UEs that use MTC.

In an example, the configuration for a MTC region may be predefined. Inanother example, the configuration for a MTC region may be configured bya higher layer. The configuration information may be predetermined. Forexample, a centered set of PRBs (e.g., six or seven PRBs) may beallocated for MTC region for downlink or uplink. In an example in thedownlink, the MTC region starts from a 4th symbol within subframes otherthan subframe #0 and #5. In another example, time and frequency resourceinformation for the MTC region may be indicated in a Master InformationBlock (MIB). In particular, a field that contains the configuration forthe MTC region may occupy Y0 bits in a 10 spare bits in a legacy MIB.This may aid in backward compatibility.

In an example, M-PBCH may be allocated in the same resource (e.g., thesame subframe, OFDM symbol, or PRBs) as a legacy PBCH. In addition, theexisting channel coding, rate-matching, modulation, layer mapping, orprecoding for a legacy PBCH transmission may be reused for thetransmission of the M-PBCH.

FIG. 5 illustrates generally signaling in the MTC region 500 in thetime-domain in accordance with some embodiments. Signaling in the MTCregion may effectively accommodate various cases for eNB coordinationand reduce signaling overhead due to the limited number ofconfigurations. A UE for MTC may receive the downlink signal or data ortransmit the uplink signal or data within a MTC occasion (e.g., 502A or502N). In an example, in a subframe (e.g., 504A or 504N) there may be nodata and the subframe (e.g., 504A or 504N) may be empty. The MTCoccasion (e.g., 502A or 502N) may play a role to define the potentialregion for downlink or uplink scheduling.

The time or frequency resource information for the MTC region 500 may beconveyed via the PBCH or the M-PBCH and may comprise frequency location(e.g. in RB index region) or time location (e.g. OFDM symbol index, slotindex, subframe index, or radio frame index). In a specific example tosignal time related information, the configuration may contain aperiodicity or subframe offset for the MTC region 500. The subframes(e.g., 504A and 504N) for a MTC purpose may be repeated (e.g., inconsecutive subframes or in non-consecutive subframes forfrequency-division duplexing (FDD), time-division duplexing (TDD), orhalf-duplex FDD (HD-FDD)). In another example, the subframes may bedefined in consecutive available downlink subframes for TDD or HD-FDDwithin each MTC occasion (e.g., 502A or 502N).

A MTC occasion (e.g., 502A or 502N), for the first subframe of thedownlink subframes 512, may satisfy:

(10×n _(f) +└n _(s)/2┘−Δ_(MTC))mod T _(MTC)=0

where n_(f) is a radio frame number and n_(s) is a slot number. In anexample, a MTC subframe offset 516 from subframe 0 in a radio frame 514,may be predetermined (e.g., Δ_(MTC)=0) to reduce the signaling overhead.In this example, the signaling may be defined as:

TABLE 1 MTC configuration Index MTC periodicity T_(MTC) I_(MTC)(subframes) 0 160 1 320 2 640 3 1280

In the example above, the MTC periodicity 508 may be selected asmultiple of 40 ms (e.g., the period to convey the same MIB contents forlegacy PBCH). The above example may assume a fixed (e.g., predetermined)N_(MTC). In an example, N_(MTC) may equal 5 (e.g., similar to SSperiodicity). In another example, N_(MTC) may equal 4 to avoid subframe0 in a radio frame 514 or subframe 5 (e.g., the subframes used forSS/PBCH/SIB1/Paging). In yet another example, N_(MTC) may equal 10(e.g., radio frame length). In still another example, N_(MTC) may equal40 (e.g., in accordance with a period to convey the same MIB contentsfor legacy PBCH). Other values for N_(MTC) may be used as well.

MTC subframe offset 516 may be also signaled with a limited candidate.For example, Δ_(MTC) may be 0 or 5.

TABLE 2 MTC MTC configuration Index MTC periodicity T_(MTC) subframeoffset Δ_(MTC) I_(MTC) (subframes) (subframes) 0-1 160 5 · I_(MTC) 2-3320 5 · (I_(MTC) − 2) 4-5 640 5 · (I_(MTC) − 4) 6-7 1280 5 · (I_(MTC) −6)

In an example, N_(MTC) may be signaled (if Δ_(MTC)=0), for example,N_(MTC) may be 5 or 10.

TABLE 3 MTC configuration Index MTC periodicity T_(MTC) I_(MTC)(subframes) N_(MTC) (subframes) 0-1 160 5 · (I_(MTC) + 1) 2-3 320 5 ·(I_(MTC) − 1) 4-5 640 5 · (I_(MTC) − 3) 6-7 1280 5 · (I_(MTC) − 5)

In an example, a bitmap may be defined for a subframe index allocatedfor the MTC region 500. In particular, the bitmap may be defined withinthe MTC occasion (e.g., 502A or 502N). For example, for N_(MTC)=4, abitmap “0011” may be used to indicate that subframes #3 and #4 areallocated for the MTC region 500. In another example, a limited set ofbitmaps together with an MTC occasion (e.g., 502A or 502N) andperiodicity 508 may be configured to reduce the signalling overhead.

In another example, time and frequency resource information for the MTCregion 500 may be broadcast in the MTC System Information Block (M-SIB).In this example, resource information (e.g., time and frequencylocation) or modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for M-SIB transmissionmay be predefined. In another example, the resource information or MCSof M-SIB transmission may be configured in a MTC Master InformationBlock (M-MIB). In the example using a M-MIB transmission, to configuredthe M-SIB, a field that contains information may occupy Y1 bits in the10 spare bits in the legacy MIB to ensure backward compatibility. Aftersuccessfully decoding the M-SIB, a MTC UE may determine the time andfrequency information of MTC regions.

In another example, for different configurations of uplink and downlinkMTC regions, separate or joint configuration signaling may be used. Inthe example with separate configuration signaling, a similar signalingmechanism as described above may be applied for both downlink and uplinkMTC regions. In the example for joint configuration signaling, some ofthe configuration information, (e.g., MTC occasions) may be applied forboth uplink and downlink MTC regions. For example, the MTC downlink oruplink subframes may be indicated by the MTC occasions as describedabove, with signaling of the differential bitmap corresponding to theconfiguration of the MTC uplink subframes that are different from theMTC downlink subframes. This example may include the option ofconfiguring the exact same subframes for MTC downlink and uplink if thedifferential bitmap is empty.

In an example, transmissions may interfere or collide in the MTC region.When a downlink physical channel is transmitted within the MTC region,resource element (RE) mapping for the physical channel transmission maybe rate-matched around the CRS or demodulation reference signal (DM-RS).The CRS or DM-RS may depend on a transmission mode. In another example,the MTC region may include a collision between a PSS/SSS transmissionand a physical channel transmission. In this example, the RE mapping forthe physical channel transmission may be rate-matched around the PSS/SSStransmission.

The MTC region may collide with a channel state information (CSI)reference signal (CSI-RS). In an example, resource element (RE) mappingfor transmission of downlink physical channels in the MTC region may berate-matched or punctured around the REs used in the CSI-RSconfiguration. In another example, the rate-matching or puncturingaround REs used in the CSI-RS configuration may be performed with themapping rule described above for the example of the MTC region collidingwith a PSS/SSS transmission. In yet another example, an eNB may avoidthe collision between a CSI-RS transmission and a transmission in theMTC region. The eNB may be configured to avoid the collisions and a UEmay assume that CSI-RS is not transmitted within the MTC region.

In LTE or LTE-advanced, CRS may be generated based on a pseudo-randomsequence. A pseudo-random sequence seed used to generate thepseudo-random sequence may be defined as a function of physical cellidentity, indication of cyclic prefix, symbol index, or subframe index.In an example, an existing CRS may be reused in the MTC region. Forexample, frequency domain information (e.g., PRB index within the MTCregion) may be known at a UE. Using the information and systembandwidth, a pseudo-random sequence may be determined and transmittedwithin the MTC region. The system bandwidth may be known by the UE froma MIB transmission.

In another example, if the frequency location for the MTC region withinthe LTE or LTE-advanced system is not known at the UE device, the UEdevice may not be able to determine the pseudo-random sequence and maynot be able to perform a channel estimation. A new MTC CRS (M-CRS) maybe defined and specified for UEs engaging in MTC. A subframe may beallocated for the MTC region. CRS (not M-CRS) may be transmitted only ina resource that is not assigned to the MTC region. For example, the MTCregion may be allocated in a multimedia broadcast single frequencynetwork (MBSFN) subframe, since CRS may not be transmitted in thatsubframe. In this example, the M-CRS pattern may reuse an existing CRStransmission or use a CRS pattern with a different MTC random seed.

The pseudo-random sequence seed may be defined as a function of anindication of the MTC region. For example:

c _(init) =f(I _(MTC))

where I_(MTC) is the indication for MTC region and I_(MTC)=1 for theM-CRS transmission. A specific example, with c as a constant, mayinclude:

c _(init)=2¹⁰·(7·(n _(s)+1)+l+1)·(2·N _(ID) ^(cell)+1)+2·N _(ID) ^(cell)+c·I _(MTC) +N _(CP)

In another example, a resource mapping pattern for CRS may be appliedfor the M-CRS transmission.

In an example, the M-MIB may be carried in a PBCH transmission or in aMTC PBCH (M-PBCH) transmission. Several options for including the M-MIBin the MTC PBCH transmission are described below relating to FIGS. 4-6.

FIG. 6 illustrates generally a first diagram 600 of a MTC physicalbroadcast channel (M-PBCH) transmission 608 in accordance with someembodiments. Diagram 600 includes a legacy (e.g., LTE or LTE-advanced)PBCH transmission subframe 602 and a M-PBCH transmission subframe 604.

In FIG. 6, the M-PBCH transmission 608 may be transmittedintermittently. The M-PBCH transmission subframe 604 may be multiplexedwith the legacy PBCH transmission subframe 602 in a time-divisionmultiplexing manner. For example, the M-PBCH transmission subframe 604may use a MTC system with narrowband deployment coexisting with a legacysystem. In an example, the periodicity 614 of the M-PBCH transmission608 may be N×40 ms. Within periodicity 614, the M-PBCH transmission 608may be transmitted M times and have a duration 612 of M×40 ms. A slot606 in the M-PBCH transmission subframe 604 or legacy PBCH transmissionsubframe 602 may have a duration 610 of 10 ms.

In an example, the M-PBCH transmission 608 may be transmitted in alegacy PBCH position. In another example, N may be larger than M, whichmay reduce the impact on the legacy LTE system. In other examples,various periodicity levels (N) and durations (M) for the M-PBCHtransmission subframe 604 may be considered and configured by eNB. In anexample, the eNB may adjust the values M and N dynamically depending onMTC traffic. The eNB may strike a balance between impacts on legacy UEsand access latency for MTC devices.

FIG. 7 illustrates generally a second diagram 700 of a MTC physicalbroadcast channel (M-PBCH) transmission 716 in accordance with someembodiments. In FIG. 7, the M-PBCH transmission 716 may be transmittedintermittently and allocated in locations other than the legacy PBCHtransmission location 708. FIG. 7 illustrates the M-PBCH transmission716 when a MTC system with narrowband deployment coexists with a LTEsystem. Similar to the periodicity 614 described above for FIG. 6, theperiodicity 714 and duration 712 of a M-PBCH transmission subframe 704may be N×40 ms and M×40 ms, respectively. In an example, a legacy PBCHtransmission 608 may be transmitted during the M-PBCH transmissionsubframe 704 duration 712, minimizing the impact on the legacy system.In another example, the values M and N may be dynamically adjusted bythe eNB, and may be dependent on the MTC traffic.

In an example, the M-PBCH transmission 716 may be transmitted insubframes other than subframe #0. For example, the M-PBCH transmission716 may be transmitted in a subframe #5. To simply the specificationeffort and implementation cost, the M-PBCH transmission 716 may beallocated in the same resource (e.g., the same OFDM symbol or PRBs) asthe legacy PBCH transmission 708. In another example, an existingchannel coding, rate-matching, modulation, layer mapping, or precodingfor the legacy PBCH transmission 708 may be reused for the M-PBCHtransmission 716.

In another example, the M-PBCH transmission 716 may be transmitted in asubframe #0 like the legacy PBCH transmission 708, and it may beallocated in different OFDM symbols. In this example, existing channelcoding, modulation and layer mapping, or precoding may be reused for theM-PBCH transmission 716. After a tail bit convolutional coding, arate-matching operation may be performed to fill in available resourceelements, excluding the control region, CRS, PSS/SSS or PBCH symbol(e.g., excluding resource elements defined separately for the MTCregion). In yet another example, a frequency first mapping may beapplied for the M-PBCH transmission 716 to align with the legacy PBCHtransmission 708. In this example, a starting symbol for the M-PBCHtransmission 716 may be predetermined. For example, the M-PBCHtransmission 716 may be transmitted starting from an OFDM symbol #4.

FIG. 8 illustrates generally a third diagram 800 of a MTC physicalbroadcast channel (M-PBCH) transmission 816 in accordance with someembodiments. In an example, the M-PBCH transmission 816 may betransmitted together with a legacy PBCH transmission 808 in allsubframes, such as subframe 804. For example, the M-PBCH transmission816 may be transmitted in a different locations than the legacy PBCHtransmission 808. The M-PBCH transmission 816 with a MTC system withnarrowband deployment may coexist with a legacy system. For example, theM-PBCH transmission 816 schemes described above for FIG. 7 may beapplied for the configuration used in FIG. 8. The diagram 800 may reducethe access latency for the MTC devices at the cost of the overall systemlevel spectrum efficiency.

In an example, for FIGS. 7 and 8, M-PBCH transmissions (e.g., 716 and816) may be transmitted in different subframes than legacy PBCHtransmissions (e.g., 708 and 808), and several options may be consideredfor resource allocation for remaining symbols. In an example, theremaining symbols within the PRBs may not be used. In another example,the remaining symbols within the PRBs may be used to transmit a legacyphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission. This example mayinclude puncturing of the corresponding four symbols that carry theM-PBCH transmission if the legacy PDSCH is active. In yet anotherexample, the remaining symbols within the PRBs may be used to transmitMTC-specific channels (e.g., M-PDSCH).

FIG. 9 illustrates generally a diagram 900 of a MTC system informationbloc (M-SIB) transmission 902 in accordance with some embodiments. Inlegacy systems, such as LTE or LTE-advanced, a system information block(SIB) may be transmitted on the PDSCH. The PDSCH may be indicated by acorresponding PDCCH including a system-information radio networktemporary identifier (SI-RNTI). The PDCCH may indicate a transportformat or PRB resources used for the system-information transmission. Inan example, a UE for MTC may have a narrowband constraint and schedulinga SIB in the MTC region similar to the legacy systems may be difficult,but also may be a viable option in circumstances desiring ease of use. AM-SIB may be used to convey information similar to that of a SIB withoutusing the same formats and transport systems of the SIB. In anotherexample, the M-SIB may incorporate information from an existing SIB aswell as having additional MTC information. Information from an existingSIB may be used to ensure the UE has access to a network while usingMTC.

In an example, a time domain configuration for the M-SIB transmission902 may be predefined. In another example, the M-SIB transmission 902may be configured by a higher layer. The time domain configurationinformation may include a subframe index and a periodicity 908 of theM-SIB transmission 902.

In the example above where the M-SIB transmission 902 is predefined, theM-SIB transmission 902 may be transmitted in a subframe #n in a frame906 within the MTC region 904. The M-SIB transmission 902 may have aperiodicity 908 of X×10 ms. In another example, multiple M-SIB blocks,(e.g, B>1) may be transmitted within the MTC region 904 with aperiodicity 908 of X×10 ms. The M-SIB may use autonomoushybrid-automatic repeat request (ARQ) retransmissions of a first M-SIBtransmission 902 may be applied to improve the decoding performance(e.g., similar to the existing SIB-1 transmission from legacy systems).In this case, a predefined redundancy version (RV) pattern amongmultiple M-SIB blocks within X×10 ms may be specified for the M-SIBtransmission 902. For example, if B=4, the RV pattern for the M-SIBtransmission 902 may be predefined as 0,2,3,1. RV may includeincremental redundancy gain for the M-SIB transmission 902. For example,in a first M-SIB transmission, RV may be set to 0, in a second M-SIBtransmission, RV may be set to 2, etc.

In another example, the time domain configuration may be configured byhigher layers and may be broadcast in the M-MIB. To aid in backwardcompatibility, a field containing the time domain configuration mayoccupy Y2 bits in a spare 10 bits in a legacy MIB.

In an example, the frequency domain information for the M-SIBtransmission 902 may be predefined or indicated in the MTC PDCCH(M-PDCCH) or the EPDCCH with a common search space (CSS). For example,the frequency domain information for the M-SIB transmission 902 may bepredefined with available resources in a subframe within the MTC region904 (e.g., 6 or 7 PRBs for 1.4 MHz bandwidth) allocated for the M-SIBtransmission 902. This may reduce signaling overhead substantially,especially when considering the narrowband deployment of MTC devices.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate generally diagrams (e.g., 1000A and 1000B)of the MTC region in a downlink in accordance with some embodiments.Legacy PDCCH, PHICH, and PCFICH may be transmitted across an entiresystem bandwidth. For MTC devices with narrow bandwidth, it may bedifficult to receive and decode the downlink control channels correctlysince the MTC region is a subset of frequencies of the entire systembandwidth. To address this issue, a new MTC downlink control channel maybe added. FIG. 10A illustrates a MTC downlink control channel design inthe MTC region. In an example, the MTC downlink control channel or MTCcontrol region 1004A may span the first K OFDM symbols in the MTC regionwhile MTC data channels 1006A may occupy the remaining OFDM symbols inthe MTC region. In other words, the MTC control region 1004A may betime-division multiplexed with the MTC data channels 1006A. The MTCcontrol region 1004A and MTC data channels 1006A may be multiplexed inthe time-division with a legacy control region 1002. In diagram 1000B,the MTC control region 1004B and the MTC data channels 1006B may bemultiplexed in the frequency domain within the MTC region. The MTCcontrol region 1004B and MTC data channels 1006B may also be multiplexedin the time-division with a legacy control region 1002.

In an example, a M-PCFICH may be considered in a control channel,similar to legacy LTE or LTE-advanced networks. In a simplifyingexample, existing PCFICH designs in LTE or LTE-advanced networks may beused for M-PCFICH design, (e.g., channel coding, modulation scheme,layer mapping and precoder, or resource mapping). In particular, 16M-PCFICH symbols may be grouped into 4 symbol quadruplets and eachsymbol quadruplet may be allocated into one resource element group.

In another example, a number of OFDM symbols allocated for M-PDCCH or astarting symbol for a M-PDSCH transmission may be predefined. In yetanother example, the number or starting symbol may be configured byhigher layers. In the second example, the M-PCFICH may not be needed inthe control channel design. In an example, transmitting a M-PCFICHtransmission may include determining that a number of OFDM symbolsallocated for MTC physical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) and astarting symbol for a MTC physical downlink shared channel (M-PDSCH)transmission are not pre-defined.

In an example, a M-PHICH may be supported to carry the hybrid-ARQacknowledgement/non-acknowledgement (ACK/NACK), that may indicatewhether the eNB has correctly received a transmission on the PUSCH. TheM-PHICH configuration may include a duration of a M-PHICH transmission.In another example, a number of M-PHICH groups may be predefined. In yetanother example, a number of M-PHICH groups may be configured by higherlayers. For example, the configuration information may be broadcast inthe M-SIB. The M-PHICH configuration may follow the configuration forthe existing PHICH in the legacy LTE or LTE-advanced networks. In theexample using the legacy networks, a 3 bit PHICH configuration in theMIB may be reused for M-PHICH to save overhead. In another example,M-PHICH configuration may be indicated in a spare 10 bits in the MIB andseparate configuration for PHICH in the legacy LTE or LTE-advancedsystem and M-PHICH in the MTC system may be signaled.

In another example, an existing PHICH design in a legacy LTE orLTE-advanced specification may be reused for a M-PHICH design (e.g.,channel coding, modulation scheme, layer mapping and precoder, orresource mapping). In this example, 12 symbols for one M-PHICH group maybe grouped into 3 symbol quadruplets and each symbol quadruplet may beallocated into one resource element group. In another example, theM-PHICH may be excluded (e.g., not needed) in the MTC control channeldesign. The M-PHICH may be excluded if the M-PHICH functionality may bereplaced by M-PDCCH.

In an example, of the MTC control region design, an existing PDCCHdesign may be reused for a M-PDCCH design. The M-PDCCH design mayinclude a legacy downlink control information (DCI) format, channelcoding, modulation, layer mapping and precoding, resource mapping, orthe like. In another example, an existing hashing table for commonsearch space (CSS) and UE specific search space (USS) may be reused forM-PDCCH design. In yet another example, of the MTC control regiondesign, an existing EPDCCH may be reused for the M-PDCCH design.

In an example of the MTC control region design, a MTC resource elementgroup (M-REG) may be defined similar to the existing REG in the currentLTE or LTE-advanced specification. The MTC control region may becollided with a PSS/SSS or a CSI-RS transmission. In the design ofM-REG, an updated resource mapping rule may be considered to handle thecollision. For example, if the MTC control region collides with PSS/SSS,the M-REG may be defined for the resource elements which are notallocated for PSS/SSS transmission. If the MTC control region iscollided with a CSI-RS transmission, the M-REG may not be defined forthe resource elements used for CSI-RS configurations.

FIG. 11 illustrates generally a diagram 1100 of the MTC region in anuplink in accordance with some embodiments. In an example, MTC PRACH(M-PRACH) 1106, MTC PUSCH (M-PUSCH) 1110, or MTC PUCCH (M-PUCCH) 1108resource allocation may follow an existing LTE or LTE-advanced type ofdesign, for example, for a 1.4 MHz bandwidth. In an example, to minimizethe specification impact and implementation cost, the physical layerprocessing for M-PRACH 1106, M-PUCCH 1108, or M-PUSCH 1110 may followthe existing design for a legacy PRACH 1104, legacy PUCCH 1102, orlegacy PUSCH (not shown) from an LTE or LTE-advanced system.

FIG. 12 illustrates generally a flowchart showing a method 1200 forusing a MTC User Equipment (UE) on a licensed bandwidth in accordancewith some embodiments. In an example, the method 1200 may include amethod 1200 for configuring a User Equipment (UE for communicationperformed by circuitry of an evolved Node B (eNB). The method 1200 mayinclude an operation 1202 to broadcast, from the eNB, a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission on a licensed band. Themethod 1200 may include an operation 1204 to transmit, from the eNB tothe UE, a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission multiplexedwith a machine-type communication (MTC) PBCH (M-PBCH) transmission, theM-PBCH transmission including a MTC master information block (M-MIB) ina MTC region of the licensed band, wherein the MTC region includes asubset of frequencies of the licensed band. The method 1200 may includean operation 1206 to transmit, from the eNB to the UE, a first datatransmission on the MTC region in a downlink.

FIG. 13 illustrates generally an example of a block diagram of a machine1300 upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies)discussed herein may perform in accordance with some embodiments. Inalternative embodiments, the machine 1300 may operate as a standalonedevice or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the machine 1300 may operate in the capacity of aserver machine, a client machine, or both in server-client networkenvironments. In an example, the machine 1300 may act as a peer machinein peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Themachine 1300 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as aservice (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic ora number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangibleentities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operationswhen operating. A module includes hardware. In an example, the hardwaremay be specifically configured to carry out a specific operation (e.g.,hardwired). In an example, the hardware may include configurableexecution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computerreadable medium containing instructions, where the instructionsconfigure the execution units to carry out a specific operation when inoperation. The configuring may occur under the direction of theexecutions units or a loading mechanism. Accordingly, the executionunits are communicatively coupled to the computer readable medium whenthe device is operating. In this example, the execution units may be amember of more than one module. For example, under operation, theexecution units may be configured by a first set of instructions toimplement a first module at one point in time and reconfigured by asecond set of instructions to implement a second module.

Machine (e.g., computer system) 1300 may include a hardware processor1302 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a mainmemory 1304 and a static memory 1306, some or all of which maycommunicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 1308. Themachine 1300 may further include a display unit 1310, an alphanumericinput device 1312 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI)navigation device 1314 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit1310, alphanumeric input device 1312 and UI navigation device 1314 maybe a touch screen display. The machine 1300 may additionally include astorage device (e.g., drive unit) 1316, a signal generation device 1318(e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1320, and one or moresensors 1321, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass,accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 1300 may include an outputcontroller 1328, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB),parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near fieldcommunication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one ormore peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 1316 may include a machine readable medium 1322 thatis non-transitory on which is stored one or more sets of data structuresor instructions 1324 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any oneor more of the techniques or functions described herein. Theinstructions 1324 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 1304, within static memory 1306, or within thehardware processor 1302 during execution thereof by the machine 1300. Inan example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 1302, themain memory 1304, the static memory 1306, or the storage device 1316 mayconstitute machine readable media.

While the machine readable medium 1322 is illustrated as a singlemedium, the term “machine readable medium” may include a single mediumor multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) configured to store the one or moreinstructions 1324.

The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine 1300 and that cause the machine 1300 to perform any one ormore of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated withsuch instructions. Non-limiting machine readable medium examples mayinclude solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. In anexample, a massed machine readable medium comprises a machine readablemedium with a plurality of particles having invariant (e.g., rest) mass.Accordingly, massed machine-readable media are not transitorypropagating signals. Specific examples of massed machine readable mediamay include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices(e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 1324 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 1326 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 1320 utilizing any one of a number of transferprotocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmissioncontrol protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards,peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the networkinterface device 1320 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g.,Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect tothe communications network 1326. In an example, the network interfacedevice 1320 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelesslycommunicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO),multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output(MISO) techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken toinclude any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying instructions for execution by the machine 1300, and includesdigital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium tofacilitate communication of such software.

VARIOUS NOTES & EXAMPLES

Each of these non-limiting examples may stand on its own, or may becombined in various permutations or combinations with one or more of theother examples.

Example 1 includes the subject matter embodied by an evolved Node B(eNB) configured to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) on a licensedband, the eNB comprising circuitry configured to: transmit a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission on the licensed band,transmit, to the UE, a machine-type communication (MTC) systeminformation block (M-SIB), the M-SIB including configuration informationto configure a MTC region of the licensed band, wherein the MTC regionincludes a subset of frequencies of the licensed band, and transmit, tothe UE, a first data transmission on the MTC region in a downlink, andreceive, from the UE, a second data transmission on the MTC region in anuplink.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally includewherein to transmit the first data transmission, the circuitry isconfigured to transmit the first data transmission multiplexed with athird data transmission.

In Example 3, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-2 can optionally include wherein the first data transmission and thethird data transmission are multiplexed in a time-division.

In Example 4, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-3 can optionally include wherein the first data transmission and thethird data transmission are multiplexed in a frequency-division.

In Example 5, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-4 can optionally include wherein to receive the second datatransmission, the circuitry is configured to receive the second datatransmission multiplexed with a fourth data transmission.

In Example 6, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-5 can optionally include wherein to transmit the first transmission,the circuitry is configured to transmit the first data transmissionusing intra-slot hopping.

In Example 7, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-6 can optionally include wherein to receive the second datatransmission, the circuitry is configured to receive the second datatransmission multiplexed in a frequency-division with transmissions on aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical random accesschannel (PRACH).

In Example 8, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-7 can optionally include wherein to receive the second datatransmission, the circuitry is further configured to receive the seconddata transmission in an intra-slot hopping frequency transmission.

In Example 9, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-8 can optionally include wherein the intra-slot hopping frequencytransmission includes a fixed hopping pattern.

In Example 10, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-9 can optionally include wherein the fixed hopping pattern includesinformation about a physical cell identity.

In Example 11, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-10 can optionally include wherein the fixed hopping pattern includesinformation about a subframe index.

In Example 12, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-11 can optionally include wherein the MTC region is predefined.

In Example 13, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-12 can optionally include wherein the M-SIB includes time andfrequency resource information of the MTC region for the UE.

In Example 14, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-13 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, separate signaling configurations for an uplinkMTC region and a downlink MTC region.

In Example 15, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-14 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, a joint signaling configuration for an uplinkMTC region and a downlink MTC region.

In Example 16, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-15 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, primary and secondary synchronization signals(PSS/SSS).

In Example 17, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-16 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto rate-match resource element mapping around the PSS/SSS within the MTCregion.

In Example 18, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-17 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, a channel state information reference signal(CSI-RS).

In Example 19, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-18 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto rate-match resource element mapping around the CSI-RS within the MTCregion.

In Example 20, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-19 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto avoid collisions between the CSI-RS and transmissions in the MTCregion.

In Example 21, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-20 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, a cell-specific reference signal.

In Example 22, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-21 can optionally include wherein the cell-specific reference signalis transmitted in a multimedia broadcast single frequency networksubframe in the MTC region.

In Example 23, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-22 can optionally include wherein the cell-specific reference signalincludes a resource mapping pattern using a MTC random seed.

In Example 24, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-23 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, a MTC master information block (M-MIB).

In Example 25, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-24 can optionally include wherein to transmit the M-MIB, the circuitryis further configured to transmit the M-MIB in a subframe in a framewithin the MTC region.

In Example 26, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-25 can optionally include wherein the M-MIB includes time andfrequency resource information for the UE.

In Example 27, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-26 can optionally include wherein to transmit the M-MIB, the circuitryis further configured to transmit the M-MIB using a MTC physicalbroadcast channel (M-PBCH).

In Example 28, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-27 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit a MTC physical broadcast channel (M-PBCH) transmission in asubframe.

In Example 29, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-28 can optionally include wherein the subframe includes a subframe notused for primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS/SSS).

In Example 30, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-29 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, a second subframe, the second subframe includinga physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission different from theM-PBCH transmission.

In Example 31, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-30 can optionally include wherein the PBCH transmission and the M-PBCHtransmission are time-division multiplexed between the subframe and thesecond subframe, and wherein the PBCH transmission and the M-PBCHtransmission are allocated in the same resource.

In Example 32, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-31 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission differentfrom the M-PBCH transmission in the subframe.

In Example 33, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-32 can optionally include wherein the PBCH transmission and the M-PBCHtransmission are time-division multiplexed within the subframe.

In Example 34, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-33 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, a MTC physical control format indicator channel(PCFICH) transmission.

In Example 35, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-34 can optionally include wherein to transmit the MTC PCFICHtransmission, the circuitry is further configured to determine that anumber of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbolsallocated for MTC physical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) and astarting symbol for a MTC physical downlink shared channel (M-PDSCH)transmission are not pre-defined.

In Example 36, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-35 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, a physical hybrid-automatic repeat request (ARQ)indicator channel M-PHICH transmission.

In Example 37, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-36 can optionally include wherein to transmit the M-PHICH, thecircuitry is further configured to transmit, to the UE, configurationinformation in a system information block (SIB) or a master informationblock (MIB).

In Example 38, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-37 can optionally include wherein to transmit the M-PHICH, thecircuitry is further configured to determine that a MTC physicaldownlink control channel (M-PDCCH) has not replaced the M-PHICHfunctionality.

In Example 39, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-38 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto transmit, to the UE, a MTC physical downlink control channel(M-PDCCH) transmission in the MTC region.

In Example 40, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-39 can optionally include wherein the M-PDCCH includes an existingenhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH).

In Example 41, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-40 can optionally include wherein the circuitry is further configuredto receive a MTC physical random access channel (M-PRACH) transmissionfrom the UE.

In Example 42, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-41 can optionally include wherein the M-PRACH transmission istime-division multiplexed with a MTC physical uplink control channel(M-PUCCH) transmission and a MTC physical uplink shared channel(M-PUSCH) transmission in the MTC region.

In Example 43, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-42 can optionally include wherein the M-PUCCH transmission and theM-PUSCH transmission are frequency-division multiplexed in the MTCregion.

Example 44 includes the subject matter embodied by an evolved Node B(eNB) configured to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) on a licensedband, the eNB comprising circuitry configured to: transmit a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission on the licensed band,transmit, to the UE, a machine-type communication (MTC) masterinformation block (M-MIB), the M-MIB including configuration informationto configure a MTC region of the licensed band, wherein the MTC regionincludes a subset of frequencies of the licensed band, and transmit, tothe UE, a first data transmission on the MTC region in a downlink, andreceive, from the UE, a second data transmission on the MTC region in anuplink.

In Example 45, the subject matter of Example 44 can optionally includewherein the circuitry is further configured to transmit, to the UE, aMTC system information block (M-SIB).

In Example 46, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples44-45 can optionally include wherein to transmit the M-SIB, thecircuitry is further configured to transmit the M-SIB in a subframe in aframe within the MTC region.

In Example 47, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples44-46 can optionally include wherein the M-SIB includes time andfrequency resource information for the UE.

Example 48 includes the subject matter embodied by a User Equipment (UE)configured to operate on a machine-type communication (MTC) MTC regionof a wireless spectrum comprising: a transceiver configured to: receive,from an evolved Node B (eNB) a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)transmission on a licensed band, receive, from the eNB, a MTC systeminformation block (M-SIB), the M-SIB including configuration informationto configure the MTC region, and receive a first data transmission onthe MTC region in a downlink, wherein the MTC region includes a subsetof frequencies of the licensed band, and transmit a second datatransmission on the MTC region in an uplink.

In Example 49, the subject matter of Example 48 can optionally includewherein to receive the first data transmission, the transceiver isconfigured to receive the first data transmission multiplexed with athird data transmission.

In Example 50, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-49 can optionally include wherein the first data transmission and thethird data transmission are multiplexed in a time-division.

In Example 51, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-50 can optionally include wherein the first data transmission and thethird data transmission are multiplexed in a frequency-division.

In Example 52, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-51 can optionally include wherein to transmit the second datatransmission, the transceiver is configured to transmit the second datatransmission multiplexed with a fourth data transmission.

In Example 53, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-52 can optionally include wherein to receive the first datatransmission, the transceiver is configured to receive the first datatransmission using intra-slot hopping.

In Example 54, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-53 can optionally include wherein to transmit the second datatransmission, the transceiver is configured to transmit the second datatransmission multiplexed in a frequency-division with transmissions on aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical random accesschannel (PRACH).

In Example 55, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-54 can optionally include wherein to transmit the second datatransmission, the transceiver is further configured to transmit thesecond data transmission in an intra-slot hopping frequencytransmission.

In Example 56, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-55 can optionally include wherein the intra-slot hopping frequencytransmission includes a fixed hopping pattern.

In Example 57, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-56 can optionally include wherein the fixed hopping pattern includesinformation about a physical cell identity.

In Example 58, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-57 can optionally include wherein the fixed hopping pattern includesinformation about a subframe index.

In Example 59, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-58 can optionally include wherein the MTC region is predefined.

In Example 60, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-59 can optionally include wherein the SIB includes time and frequencyresource information of the MTC region for the UE.

In Example 61, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-60 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, separate signaling configurationsfor an uplink MTC region and a downlink MTC region.

In Example 62, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-61 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, a joint signaling configuration foran uplink MTC region and a downlink MTC region.

In Example 63, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-62 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, primary and secondarysynchronization signals (PSS/SSS).

In Example 64, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-63 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to rate-match resource element mapping around the PSS/SSSwithin the MTC region.

In Example 65, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-64 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, a channel state informationreference signal (CSI-RS).

In Example 66, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-65 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to rate-match resource element mapping around the CSI-RSwithin the MTC region.

In Example 67, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-66 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to avoid collisions between the CSI-RS and transmissions inthe MTC region.

In Example 68, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-67 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, a cell-specific reference signal.

In Example 69, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-68 can optionally include wherein the cell-specific reference signalis received in a multimedia broadcast single frequency network subframein the MTC region.

In Example 70, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-69 can optionally include wherein the cell-specific reference signalincludes a resource mapping pattern using a MTC random seed.

In Example 71, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-70 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, a MTC master information block(M-MIB).

In Example 72, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-71 can optionally include wherein to receive the M-MIB, thetransceiver is further configured to receive the M-MIB in a subframe ina frame within the MTC region.

In Example 73, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-72 can optionally include wherein the M-MIB includes time andfrequency resource information for the UE.

In Example 74, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-73 can optionally include wherein to receive the M-MIB, thetransceiver is further configured to receive the M-MIB on a MTC physicalbroadcast channel (M-PBCH).

In Example 75, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-74 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive a MTC physical broadcast channel (M-PBCH)transmission in a subframe.

In Example 76, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-75 can optionally include wherein the subframe includes a subframenot used for primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS/SSS).

In Example 77, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-76 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the UE, a second subframe, the secondsubframe including a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmissiondifferent from the M-PBCH transmission.

In Example 78, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-77 can optionally include wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are time-division multiplexed between the subframeand the second subframe, and wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are allocated in the same resource.

In Example 79, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-78 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmissiondifferent from the M-PBCH transmission in the subframe.

In Example 80, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-79 can optionally include wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are time-division multiplexed within the subframe.

In Example 81, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-80 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, a MTC physical control formatindicator channel (PCFICH) transmission.

In Example 82, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-81 can optionally include wherein to receive the MTC PCFICHtransmission, the transceiver is further configured to determine that anumber of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbolsallocated for MTC physical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) and astarting symbol for a MTC physical downlink shared channel (M-PDSCH)transmission are not pre-defined.

In Example 83, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-82 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, a physical hybrid-automatic repeatrequest (ARQ) indicator channel M-PHICH transmission.

In Example 84, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-83 can optionally include wherein to receive the M-PHICH, thetransceiver is further configured to receive, from the eNB,configuration information in a system information block (SIB) or amaster information block (MIB).

In Example 85, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-84 can optionally include wherein to receive the M-PHICH, thetransceiver is further configured to determine that a MTC physicaldownlink control channel (M-PDCCH) has not replaced the M-PHICHfunctionality.

In Example 86, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-85 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive, from the eNB, a MTC physical downlink controlchannel (M-PDCCH) transmission in the MTC region.

In Example 87, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-86 can optionally include wherein the M-PDCCH includes an existingenhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH).

In Example 88, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-87 can optionally include wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to transmit a MTC physical random access channel (M-PRACH)transmission.

In Example 89, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-88 can optionally include wherein the M-PRACH transmission istime-division multiplexed with a MTC physical uplink control channel(M-PUCCH) transmission and a MTC physical uplink shared channel(M-PUSCH) transmission in the MTC region.

In Example 90, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples48-89 can optionally include wherein the M-PUCCH transmission and theM-PUSCH transmission are frequency-division multiplexed in the MTCregion.

Example 91 includes the subject matter embodied by a User Equipment (UE)configured to operate on a machine-type communication (MTC) MTC regionof a wireless spectrum comprising: a transceiver configured to: receive,from an evolved Node B (eNB) a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)transmission on a licensed band, receive, from the eNB, a MTC masterinformation block (M-MIB), the M-MIB including configuration informationto configure the MTC region, and receive a first data transmission onthe MTC region in a downlink, wherein the MTC region includes a subsetof frequencies of the licensed band, and transmit a second datatransmission on the MTC region in an uplink.

In Example 92, the subject matter of Example 91 can optionally includewherein the transceiver is further configured to receive, from the eNB,a MTC system information block (M-SIB).

In Example 93, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples91-92 can optionally include wherein to receive the M-SIB, thetransceiver is further configured to receive the M-SIB in a subframe ina frame within the MTC region.

In Example 94, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples91-93 can optionally include wherein the M-SIB includes time andfrequency resource information for the UE.

Example 95 includes the subject matter embodied by a method forconfiguring a User Equipment (UE) for communication performed bycircuitry of an evolved Node B (eNB), the method comprising:broadcasting, from the eNB, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)transmission on a licensed band, transmitting, from the eNB to the UE, aphysical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission multiplexed with amachine-type communication (MTC) PBCH (M-PBCH) transmission, the M-PBCHtransmission including a MTC system information block (M-SIB), the M-SIBincluding configuration information to configure a MTC region of thelicensed band, wherein the MTC region includes a subset of frequenciesof the licensed band, and transmitting, from the eNB to the UE, a firstdata transmission on the MTC region in a downlink.

In Example 96, the subject matter of Example 95 can optionally includefurther comprising receiving, from the UE, a second data transmission onthe MTC region in an uplink.

In Example 97, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-96 can optionally include wherein receiving the second datatransmission includes receiving the second data transmission multiplexedin a frequency-division with transmissions on a physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH) or a physical random access channel (PRACH).

In Example 98, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-97 can optionally include wherein receiving the second datatransmission includes receiving the second data transmission in anintra-slot hopping frequency transmission.

In Example 99, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-98 can optionally include further comprising multiplexing the firstdata transmission and a third data transmission in a time-division.

In Example 100, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-99 can optionally include further comprising multiplexing the firstdata transmission and a third transmission in a frequency-division.

In Example 101, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-100 can optionally include wherein transmitting the first datatransmission includes transmitting the first data transmission usingintra-slot hopping.

In Example 102, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-101 can optionally include wherein the intra-slot hopping frequencytransmission includes a fixed hopping pattern.

In Example 103, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-102 can optionally include wherein the fixed hopping pattern includesinformation about a physical cell identity.

In Example 104, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-103 can optionally include wherein the fixed hopping pattern includesinformation about a subframe index.

In Example 105, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-104 can optionally include wherein the MTC region is predefined.

In Example 106, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-105 can optionally include wherein the SIB includes time andfrequency resource information for the UE.

In Example 107, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-106 can optionally include further comprising transmitting, to theUE, separate signaling configurations for an uplink MTC region and adownlink MTC region.

In Example 108, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-107 can optionally include further comprising transmitting, to theUE, a joint signaling configuration for an uplink MTC region and adownlink MTC region.

In Example 109, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-108 can optionally include further comprising transmitting, to theUE, primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS/SSS).

In Example 110, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-109 can optionally include further comprising rate-matching resourceelement mapping around the PSS/SSS within the MTC region.

In Example 111, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-110 can optionally include further comprising transmitting, to theUE, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

In Example 112, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-111 can optionally include further comprising rate-matching resourceelement mapping around the CSI-RS within the MTC region.

In Example 113, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-112 can optionally include further comprising avoiding collisionsbetween the CSI-RS and transmissions in the MTC region.

In Example 114, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-113 can optionally include further comprising, transmitting, to theUE, a cell-specific reference signal.

In Example 115, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-114 can optionally include wherein the cell-specific reference signalis transmitted in a multimedia broadcast single frequency networksubframe in the MTC region.

In Example 116, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-115 can optionally include wherein the cell-specific reference signalincludes a resource mapping pattern using a MTC random seed.

In Example 117, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-116 can optionally include further comprising transmitting, to theUE, a MTC master information block (M-MIB).

In Example 118, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-117 can optionally include wherein transmitting the M-MIB includestransmitting the M-MIB in a subframe in a frame within the MTC region.

In Example 119, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-118 can optionally include wherein the M-MIB includes time andfrequency resource information for the UE.

In Example 120, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-119 can optionally include wherein transmitting the M-MIB includestransmitting the M-MIB on a MTC physical broadcast channel (M-PBCH).

In Example 121, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-120 can optionally include wherein transmitting the M-PBCH includestransmitting the M-PBCH in a subframe.

In Example 122, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-121 can optionally include wherein the subframe includes a subframenot used for primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS/SSS).

In Example 123, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-122 can optionally include further comprising transmitting to the UE,a second subframe, the second subframe including a physical broadcastchannel (PBCH) transmission different from the M-PBCH.

In Example 124, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-123 can optionally include wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are time-division multiplexed between the subframeand the second subframe, and wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are allocated in the same resource.

In Example 125, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-124 can optionally include further comprising transmitting a physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH) transmission different from the M-PBCH in thesubframe.

In Example 126, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-125 can optionally include wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are time-division multiplexed within the subframe.

In Example 127, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-126 can optionally include further comprising transmitting, to theUE, a MTC physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH)transmission.

In Example 128, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-127 can optionally include wherein transmitting the MTC PCFICHtransmission includes determining that a number of orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols allocated for MTCphysical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) and a starting symbol for aMTC physical downlink shared channel (M-PDSCH) transmission are notpre-defined.

In Example 129, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-128 can optionally include further comprising transmitting, to theUE, a physical hybrid-automatic repeat request (ARQ) indicator channelM-PHICH transmission.

In Example 130, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-129 can optionally include wherein transmitting the M-PHICH includestransmitting, to the UE, configuration information in a systeminformation block (SIB) or a master information block (MIB).

In Example 131, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-130 can optionally include wherein transmitting the M-PHICH includesdetermining that a MTC physical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) hasnot replaced the M-PHICH functionality.

In Example 132, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-131 can optionally include further comprising transmitting, to theUE, a MTC physical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) transmission inthe MTC region.

In Example 133, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-132 can optionally include wherein the M-PDCCH includes an existingenhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH).

In Example 134, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-133 can optionally include further comprising receiving a MTCphysical random access channel (M-PRACH) transmission from the UE.

In Example 135, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-134 can optionally include wherein the M-PRACH transmission istime-division multiplexed with a MTC physical uplink control channel(M-PUCCH) transmission and a MTC physical uplink shared channel(M-PUSCH) transmission in the MTC region.

In Example 136, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples95-135 can optionally include wherein the M-PUCCH transmission and theM-PUSCH transmission are frequency-division multiplexed in the MTCregion.

Example 137 includes an apparatus comprising means for performing any ofthe methods of claims 95-136.

Example 138 includes at least one machine-readable medium includinginstructions for operation of a computer system, which when executed bya machine, cause the machine to perform any of the methods of claims95-136.

Example 139 includes the subject matter embodied by an apparatus forconfiguring a User Equipment (UE) for communication comprising: meansfor broadcasting, from an evolved Node B (eNB), a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) transmission on a licensed band, means fortransmitting, from the eNB to the UE, a physical broadcast channel(PBCH) transmission multiplexed with a machine-type communication (MTC)PBCH (M-PBCH) transmission, the M-PBCH transmission including a MTCsystem information block (M-SIB), the M-SIB including configurationinformation to configure a MTC region of the licensed band, wherein theMTC region includes a subset of frequencies of the licensed band, andmeans for transmitting, from the eNB to the UE, a first datatransmission on the MTC region in a downlink.

Example 140 includes the subject matter embodied by at least onemachine-readable medium including instructions for operation of acomputing system, which when executed by a machine, cause the machineto: broadcast, from an evolved Node B (eNB), a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) transmission on a licensed band, transmit, from the eNBto the UE, a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission multiplexedwith a machine-type communication (MTC) PBCH (M-PBCH) transmission, theM-PBCH transmission including a MTC system information block (M-SIB),the M-SIB including configuration information to configure a MTC regionof the licensed band, wherein the MTC region includes a subset offrequencies of the licensed band, and transmit, from the eNB to the UE,a first data transmission on the MTC region in a downlink.

Example 141 includes the subject matter embodied by a method forconfiguring a User Equipment (UE) to operate on a MTC region of awireless spectrum, the method comprising: receiving, at the UE from anevolved Node B (eNB), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)transmission on a licensed band, receiving, at the UE from the eNB, amachine-type communication (MTC) physical broadcast channel (M-PBCH)transmission including a MTC system information block (M-SIB) on the MTCregion, and transmitting, from the UE, a data transmission on the MTCregion in an uplink, wherein the MTC region includes a subset offrequencies of the licensed band.

In Example 142, the subject matter of Example 140 can optionally includewherein transmitting the data transmission includes transmitting thedata transmission multiplexed with a second data transmission.

In Example 143, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-142 can optionally include wherein the data transmission and thesecond data transmission are multiplexed in a time-division.

In Example 144, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-143 can optionally include wherein the data transmission and thesecond data transmission are multiplexed in a frequency-division.

In Example 145, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-144 can optionally include wherein transmitting the datatransmission includes transmitting the data transmission usingintra-slot hopping.

In Example 146, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-145 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, a third data transmission on the MTC region in a downlink.

In Example 147, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-146 can optionally include wherein receiving the third datatransmission includes receiving the third data transmission in anintra-slot hopping frequency transmission.

In Example 148, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-147 can optionally include wherein the intra-slot hopping frequencytransmission includes a fixed hopping pattern.

In Example 149, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-148 can optionally include wherein the fixed hopping patternincludes information about a physical cell identity.

In Example 150, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-149 can optionally include wherein the fixed hopping patternincludes information about a subframe index.

In Example 151, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-150 can optionally include wherein the MTC region is predefined.

In Example 152, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-151 can optionally include wherein the SIB includes time andfrequency resource information for the UE.

In Example 153, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-152 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, separate signaling configurations for an uplink MTC region and adownlink MTC region.

In Example 154, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-153 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, a joint signaling configuration for an uplink MTC region and adownlink MTC region.

In Example 155, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-154 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS/SSS).

In Example 156, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-155 can optionally include further comprising rate-matching resourceelement mapping around the PSS/SSS within the MTC region.

In Example 157, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-156 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

In Example 158, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-157 can optionally include further comprising rate-matching resourceelement mapping around the CSI-RS within the MTC region.

In Example 159, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-158 can optionally include further comprising avoiding collisionsbetween the CSI-RS and transmissions in the MTC region.

In Example 160, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-159 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, a cell-specific reference signal.

In Example 161, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-160 can optionally include wherein the cell-specific referencesignal is received in a multimedia broadcast single frequency networksubframe in the MTC region.

In Example 162, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-161 can optionally include wherein the cell-specific referencesignal includes a resource mapping pattern using a MTC random seed.

In Example 163, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-162 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, a MTC master information block (M-MIB).

In Example 164, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-163 can optionally include wherein receiving the M-MIB includesreceiving the M-MIB in a subframe in a frame within the MTC region.

In Example 165, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-164 can optionally include wherein the M-MIB includes time andfrequency resource information for the UE.

In Example 166, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-165 can optionally include wherein receiving the M-MIB includesreceiving the M-MIB on a MTC physical broadcast channel (M-PBCH).

In Example 167, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-166 can optionally include wherein receiving the M-PBCH includesreceiving the M-PBCH in a subframe.

In Example 168, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-167 can optionally include wherein the subframe includes a subframenot used for primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS/SSS).

In Example 169, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-168 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theUE, a second subframe, the second subframe including a physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH) transmission different from the M-PBCH.

In Example 170, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-169 can optionally include wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are time-division multiplexed between the subframeand the second subframe, and wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are allocated in the same resource.

In Example 171, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-170 can optionally include further comprising receiving a physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH) transmission different from the M-PBCH in thesubframe.

In Example 172, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-171 can optionally include wherein the PBCH transmission and theM-PBCH transmission are time-division multiplexed within the subframe.

In Example 173, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-172 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, a MTC physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH)transmission.

In Example 174, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-173 can optionally include wherein receiving the MTC PCFICHtransmission includes determining that a number of orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols allocated for MTCphysical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) and a starting symbol for aMTC physical downlink shared channel (M-PDSCH) transmission are notpre-defined.

In Example 175, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-174 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, a physical hybrid-automatic repeat request (ARQ) indicator channelM-PHICH transmission.

In Example 176, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-175 can optionally include wherein receiving the M-PHICH includesreceiving, from the eNB, configuration information in a systeminformation block (SIB) or a master information block (MIB).

In Example 177, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-176 can optionally include wherein receiving the M-PHICH includesdetermining that a MTC physical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) hasnot replaced the M-PHICH functionality.

In Example 178, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-177 can optionally include further comprising receiving, from theeNB, a MTC physical downlink control channel (M-PDCCH) transmission inthe MTC region.

In Example 179, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-178 can optionally include wherein the M-PDCCH includes an existingenhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH).

In Example 180, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-179 can optionally include further comprising transmitting a MTCphysical random access channel (M-PRACH) transmission.

In Example 181, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-180 can optionally include wherein the M-PRACH transmission istime-division multiplexed with a MTC physical uplink control channel(M-PUCCH) transmission and a MTC physical uplink shared channel(M-PUSCH) transmission in the MTC region.

In Example 182, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples141-181 can optionally include wherein the M-PUCCH transmission and theM-PUSCH transmission are frequency-division multiplexed in the MTCregion.

Example 183 includes an apparatus comprising means for performing any ofthe methods of claims 141-182.

Example 184 includes at least one machine-readable medium includinginstructions for operation of a computer system, which when executed bya machine, cause the machine to perform any of the methods of claims141-182.

Example 185 the subject matter embodied by at least one machine-readablemedium including instructions for operation of a computing system, whichwhen executed by a machine, cause the machine to: receive, at a UserEquipment (UE) from an evolved Node B (eNB), a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) transmission on a licensed band, receive, at the UE fromthe eNB, a machine-type communication (MTC) physical broadcast channel(M-PBCH) transmission including a MTC system information block (M-SIB),the SIB including configuration information to configure a MTC region ofthe licensed band, wherein the MTC region includes a subset offrequencies of the licensed band, and transmit, from the UE, a datatransmission on the MTC region in an uplink.

In Example 186, the subject matter of Example 185 can optionally includewherein operations to receive the data transmission include operationsto receive the data transmission using intra-slot hopping.

The above detailed description includes references to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawingsshow, by way of illustration, specific embodiments. These embodimentsare also referred to herein as “examples.” Such examples may includeelements in addition to those shown or described. However, the presentinventors also contemplate examples in which only those elements shownor described are provided. Moreover, the present inventors alsocontemplate examples using any combination or permutation of thoseelements shown or described (or one or more aspects thereof), eitherwith respect to a particular example (or one or more aspects thereof),or with respect to other examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shownor described herein.

In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and anydocuments so incorporated by reference, the usage in this documentcontrols.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “inwhich” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms“including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, device,article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements inaddition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemedto fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the followingclaims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merelyas labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements ontheir objects.

Method examples described herein may be machine or computer-implementedat least in part. Some examples may include a computer-readable mediumor machine-readable medium encoded with instructions operable toconfigure an electronic device to perform methods as described in theabove examples. An implementation of such methods may include code, suchas microcode, assembly language code, a higher-level language code, orthe like. Such code may include computer readable instructions forperforming various methods. The code may form portions of computerprogram products. Further, in an example, the code may be tangiblystored on one or more volatile, non-transitory, or non-volatile tangiblecomputer-readable media, such as during execution or at other times.Examples of these tangible computer-readable media may include, but arenot limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable opticaldisks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), magnetic cassettes,memory cards or sticks, random access memories (RAMs), read onlymemories (ROMs), and the like.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Otherembodiments may be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to complywith 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), to allow the reader to quickly ascertain thenature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scopeor meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed Description,various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure.This should not be interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosedfeature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter maylie in less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment.Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription as examples or embodiments, with each claim standing on itsown as a separate embodiment, and it is contemplated that suchembodiments may be combined with each other in various combinations orpermutations.

What is claimed is:
 1. An evolved Node B (eNB) configured to communicatewith a User Equipment (UE) on a licensed band, the eNB comprisingcircuitry configured to: transmit a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) transmission on the licensed band; transmit, to the UE, amachine-type communication (MTC) system information block (M-SIB), theM-SIB including configuration information to configure a MTC region ofthe licensed band, wherein the MTC region includes a subset offrequencies of the licensed band; and transmit, to the UE, a first datatransmission on the MTC region in a downlink; and receive, from the UE,a second data transmission on the MTC region in an uplink.
 2. The eNB ofclaim 1, wherein to transmit the first data transmission, the circuitryis configured to transmit the first data transmission multiplexed with athird data transmission.
 3. The eNB of claim 2, wherein the first datatransmission and the third data transmission are multiplexed in atime-division.
 4. The eNB of claim 1, wherein to receive the second datatransmission, the circuitry is configured to receive the second datatransmission multiplexed in a frequency-division with transmissions on aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical random accesschannel (PRACH).
 5. The eNB of claim 1, wherein the M-SIB includes timeand frequency resource information of the MTC region for the UE.
 6. TheeNB of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to transmit,to the UE, primary and secondary synchronization signals (PSS/SSS). 7.The eNB of claim 6, wherein the circuitry is further configured torate-match resource element mapping around the PSS/SSS within the MTCregion.
 8. The eNB of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured to transmit, to the UE, a channel state information referencesignal (CSI-RS).
 9. The eNB of claim 8, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured to avoid collisions between the CSI-RS and transmissions inthe MTC region.
 10. The eNB of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured to transmit, to the UE, a cell-specific reference signal. 11.The eNB of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured totransmit, to the UE, a MTC master information block (M-MIB).
 12. The eNBof claim 11, wherein to transmit the M-MIB, the circuitry is furtherconfigured to transmit the M-MIB in a subframe in a frame within the MTCregion.
 13. The eNB of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured to transmit a MTC physical broadcast channel (M-PBCH)transmission in a subframe.
 14. The eNB of claim 13, wherein thecircuitry is further configured to transmit, to the UE, a secondsubframe, the second subframe including a physical broadcast channel(PBCH) transmission different from the M-PBCH transmission.
 15. The eNBof claim 14, wherein the PBCH transmission and the M-PBCH transmissionare time-division multiplexed between the subframe and the secondsubframe, and wherein the PBCH transmission and the M-PBCH transmissionare allocated in the same resource.
 16. The eNB of claim 13, wherein thecircuitry is further configured to transmit a physical broadcast channel(PBCH) transmission different from the M-PBCH transmission in thesubframe.
 17. A User Equipment (UE) configured to operate on amachine-type communication (MTC) MTC region of a wireless spectrumcomprising: a transceiver configured to: receive, from an evolved Node B(eNB) a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission on alicensed band; receive, from the eNB, a MTC system information block(M-SIB), the M-SIB including configuration information to configure theMTC region; and receive a first data transmission on the MTC region in adownlink, wherein the MTC region includes a subset of frequencies of thelicensed band; and transmit a second data transmission on the MTC regionin an uplink.
 18. The UE of claim 17, wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to transmit a MTC physical random access channel (M-PRACH)transmission.
 19. The UE of claim 18, wherein the M-PRACH transmissionis time-division multiplexed with a MTC physical uplink control channel(M-PUCCH) transmission and a MTC physical uplink shared channel(M-PUSCH) transmission in the MTC region.
 20. The UE of claim 17,further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver. 21.A method for configuring a User Equipment (UE) for communicationperformed by circuitry of an evolved Node B (eNB), the methodcomprising: broadcasting, from the eNB, a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) transmission on a licensed band; transmitting, from theeNB to the UE, a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmissionmultiplexed with a machine-type communication (MTC) PBCH (M-PBCH)transmission, the M-PBCH transmission including a MTC system informationblock (M-SIB), the M-SIB including configuration information toconfigure a MTC region of the licensed band, wherein the MTC regionincludes a subset of frequencies of the licensed band; and transmitting,from the eNB to the UE, a first data transmission on the MTC region in adownlink.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising transmitting,to the UE, a physical hybrid-automatic repeat request (ARQ) indicatorchannel M-PHICH transmission.
 23. The method of claim 22, whereintransmitting the M-PHICH includes transmitting, to the UE, configurationinformation in a system information block (SIB) or a master informationblock (MIB).
 24. At least one machine-readable medium includinginstructions for operation of a computing system, which when executed bya machine, cause the machine to: receive, at a User Equipment (UE) froman evolved Node B (eNB), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)transmission on a licensed band; receive, at the UE from the eNB, amachine-type communication (MTC) physical broadcast channel (M-PBCH)transmission including a MTC system information block (M-SIB), the SIBincluding configuration information to configure a MTC region of thelicensed band, wherein the MTC region includes a subset of frequenciesof the licensed band; and transmit, from the UE, a data transmission onthe MTC region in an uplink.
 25. The machine-readable medium of claim24, wherein operations to receive the data transmission includeoperations to receive the data transmission using intra-slot hopping.